You’d think the words “Gerard Butler” and “diamond heist flick” would spell out something fantastic, but in the case of Robert Luketic‘s Brilliant, they seem to signal something less than shiny. Butler has just replaced a previously in-negotiations Eric Bana to star in the film (and that’s already a black mark against it in my book, I’d much rather watch Bana on screen than Butler), which will be directed by his The Ugly Truth helmer. Yeah, that’s not good.
Variety reports that Brilliant centers on “a small-time criminal who partners with a female thief to pull off a daring diamond heist.” While that’s certainly a fun premise, the closest that Luketic has come to a heist flick is 2008′s missed opportunity 21. And the film’s screenwriter will be of little help when it comes to crime expertise, as the film is writer Gillian Gorfil‘s first project.
It’s interesting that Luketic would take on such a film – his resume is peppered with second-tier rom-coms like The Ugly Truth, Win A Date With Tad Hamilton!, Killers, and Monster-in-Law. Chilling stuff. But does Brilliant signal a genre switch-up for Luketic, or is it really just a high concept romantic comedy masquerading as a slick heist flick? Butler’s resume is of no help on this one, as the Scot jumps genres like it’s his job (I get it, it is, he’s an actor), so we’ll just have to see how this one shakes out.